Saving the Planet: One Pancake House at a Time
by peterpan-is-my-boyfriend
Summary: Melanie is excited to move to sunny Coconut Cove and live a laid back year on the beach. But, after wandering into Mulletfinger's boat one day, the small town proves to be way more exiting than she expected. Rated T just in case. Based on the movie.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this is my first fanfiction! YAY! It follows the same story line as the movie but with added in scenes, characters, and lines. I hope someone reads this! So let me know if you do with a review! Kay? Good. Remember, though. I do not own ANY of the original characters/similar lines/places/other stuff like that. Okay, now for the story:**

**Chapter 1- **MELANIE

"Hey, Squirt. Wake up," Robbie said, poking me in the ribs. "We're here." I groaned and rolled over in my uncomfortable economy class seat, ignoring my brother's prodding.

"Come on, get up. It's sunny outside," he said. This got my attention. You see, my parents had decided to pick up everything we owned and move us from frigid North Dakota to sunny Coconut Cove, Florida. I hated the cold and was actually excited to be moving, despite having to leave my friends and the only place I ever called home.

"No cold?" I asked, just to make sure before I actually opened my eyes.

"No cold." At this, I blinked a few times at the light shining through the window. Robbie pulled down my carry-on from the overhead cabinet before grabbing his own as well and following our parents off the plane. I got up, stretched, then walked close behind him so I wouldn't have to let anyone pass out of their middle row seats in front of me and get separated. We climbed down the stairs leading from the plane and out into the warm sun. I pulled off my sweatshirt and smiled. Now _this _was my kind of weather.

"This is Florida, kids. A new place to start," my dad said, overly enthusiastic.

"Yeah, maybe Mel can start growing a few inches here and stop being the short kid on the block. You know, begin on a clean slate," Robbie said. At seventeen, he still hadn't quite grown up, being the jokester he was. My already short self seemed even smaller to him, and he constantly was making fun of me for it. It was annoying, but still I couldn't help looking up at him and grinning.

"Oh, be quiet," I said, trying my best to sound annoyed. My mother finally came out of the plane after finishing her friendly chat with our flight attendant.

"Come on kids, lets head home," she said, placing an arm around me. I leaned in close. Even after the extremely long flight she still smelled good, like home. After grabbing our luggage, my uncle picked us up from the airport and drove us to Coconut Cove. We would be staying with him, my aunt, and my four-year-old cousin, Andrew, until we got settled in. In the back of the car, I turned towards Robbie.

"I get the shower first," I said.

"In your dreams, Squirt."


	2. Chapter 2

**If you're wondering why some lines are similar to the movie, it's because it's the same story, but with Melanie in it…. I like this chapter a lot but right now I'm not sure if I should make Roy crush on her. I sort of think she would be cuter with him than with Mulletfingers, but I'm not sure yet… so maybe you guys could tell me in a review? Pleeaassse? With a cherry on top? Well, you know, if anyone actually reads this. :( ****I hope they do. Okay, so now for the story, and remember, I do not own the characters/similar lines/places/other stuff like that. I only own the made up things like Melanie and her family. **

**Chapter 2- **ROY

I walked onto the bus, sat down, and looked out the window. I wasn't sure why. Maybe I was looking for the kid with no shoes again, maybe I wasn't. As I was sitting there, I spotted this girl running down the sidewalk almost as fast as the barefoot kid, her light brown hair streaming out behind her and her backpack trailing along the ground after her. She was shouting, "Wait!", but the bus driver didn't seem to hear her, or she was just ignoring her so she wouldn't have to stop the bus. The girl tripped suddenly, but didn't completely hit the ground; her palms probably got the worst of the fall. I stood up and yelled to the driver. I'm not really sure why I did that either, I just felt like I needed to help her for some reason.

"Hey! I think that girl needs to get on!" I said. The driver motioned for me to sit down and pulled over. The girl saw and brightened, slowing to a walk. She climbed up the steps and breathlessly murmured her thanks to the driver. Whispers filled the air, all wondering who the new girl was. Girls made snobbish comments about her hair, her clothes, anything they could possibly think of. Guys sat up in their seat, trying to get a close look at her. As they did, a few let out slow whistles and made crude comments, including Garret in his seat across the aisle from me. I could tell the girl was trying to ignore them as she looked around for an empty seat.

A kid in the back shoved his friend into the aisle saying, "You can sit next to me any day, girl." The girl raised an eyebrow at him and looked disgusted.

"There's an empty seat here," I said, turning back to the window. I didn't want to miss the barefoot kid if he ran by.

"Thanks," she said, smiling at me. "I'm Melanie."

"Roy Ebberhart. So, your new here too," I said, making light conversation. She really was pretty, and she was fast too. Looking at her, you wouldn't be able to tell: she was short, maybe coming up to my shoulders, and her gray eyes were so innocently big, with long lashes to match. She didn't look strong enough to hold up her backpack, let alone run that far and that fast.

"Yeah. I'm from North Dakota. You?" she asked.

"Montana. Guess we're neighbors, sort of," I answered, seeing as North Dakota is right next to Montana. "Plus we've got the same bus stop, so I'm guessing you moved into that empty house three doors down, with the blue shutters." She did this cute thing where she wrinkled the tip of her nose and smiled so that her dimples showed.

"Yup, that's me." I smiled back, but right then Dana came barreling down the aisle. Just my luck. Melanie looked up and subconsciously shrunk back against me. I wasn't surprised. He was big enough to swallow her whole. He was coming towards me. I decided that I needed to sit on the opposite side of her, because, by the looks of her, she would be crushed to pieces if he tried to reach me.

"Here, move over. This doesn't look good," I said. She looked up at me curiously with those big eyes that seemed to take up her whole face, but moved over nonetheless. I stepped over her and she slid closer to the window. Before I could sit down, Dana was there, looming over me. Just then, I saw the running boy out of the corner of my eye and tried to push my way off the bus to follow him. "Hey, Dana. Sorry to leave during the middle of this and all, but I have to go. Nice meeting you, Melanie," I told her. But Dana just stepped closer.

"Where you going, Cowgirl? You can't leave, you're my little puppet," He grabbed me and started shaking me back and forth. I looked down and could tell Melanie was scared. And here I was thinking her eyes couldn't get any bigger.

"Hey, what are you doing? Let go of him, he didn't do anything," she piped up with a shaking voice. But she was nothing against him; he probably ate people her size for breakfast. Dana grabbed me by the neck and shook me harder. I gagged as I was jerked from side-to-side.

"Ooo who's that? Your girlfriend? Dance for her, puppet. Dance," he jeered. That was it. I turned around as best I could and punched him, square in the nose. He fell back into the aisle with a loud _thump_. Melanie let out a small shriek and slid as far away from us as possible. I turned to her, looking out the window behind her head. The kid was no longer in sight. I would never catch up to him now, but I could try.

"Bye, Melanie, see you at school." And like that I was off that bus, hopping down the steps. I ran into a tall, menacing blond girl with braids.

"Hey watch it, kid," she sneered. I apologized over my shoulder and kept running. I could see him, but from a distance.

"Hey! Slow down!" I yelled, but he just kept running. We ran over a bridge and then finally reached a golf coarse. I couldn't run anymore and doubled over to catch my breath.

"Fort! Fort!" was all I heard before the golf ball came spiraling at me and the world went black.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ummm… I feel silly writing as if I'm talking to someone, because as of now no one has left me a review :(… well that's kind of discouraging. But I will NOT give up! Someone will read it, someday. That will be a good day… you know, when and if it comes….**

**Okay, so I'm going to stop talking to myself and, without further ado, present to you (if you're out there) CHAPTER 3! Just remember that I don't own the characters/similar lines/scenes/stuff like that. **

**Chapter 3-** MELANIE

He said his name was Roy. I knew a kid named Roy, back home. He was strange. He would talk to himself and whenever you turned around, there he was, listening in on your conversation. Thinking about this, I realized that I missed everything about home, even stalker-boy Roy. I pushed those thoughts out of my head and thought about the present. For everyone else it was the second day of school. But for me, it was the first. They had the upper hand, they'd already gone through the awkwardness of first day back. But me? Not only was I new here, but I was a day late too. I mentally made a note to be mad at my dad because of making us miss our first plane here when I got home. I turned to the back of the bus, where Dana was whining and holding his nose. He was _glaring_ at me. My stomach turned.

And onto the bus stomped this girl. She was tall and her blond braids did the opposite of what braids should do. Instead of making her look childish and sweet, they only added to her intimidating stance. She had no seat, so she plopped down next to me.

"What are you looking at?" she asked. If that's how she wanted it, she could have it her way, but I was going to play nice.

"Oh, nothing. Sorry. I'm Melanie, I just moved here from North Dakota. Not to seem rude," I said, looking over my shoulder, "but if I were you I wouldn't sit here. That huge bully over there seems to have it in for me."

"Him? Don't worry about him, he's a big baby. Just stick by me, and he won't give you any trouble. By the way, I'm Beatrice," she told me, holding out her hand.

"He's afraid of _you_? I mean, no offense or anything, but…." Just then the kid sitting across the aisle from us slid off his headphones and reached a hand across Beatrice towards me. I took it.

"I'm Garret. I couldn't help but overhear, but _of coarse he's afraid of her._ She's Beatrice _the Bear_. You know, not someone you want to cross. Isn't that right, Beatrice?" he said.

"Buzz of, dweeb," Beatrice said, punching him hard in the arm. Garret rubbed it and mouthed, "OW." I smiled. First day at school and I already had made acquaintances. Not even the first day, the bus ride to the first day.

Beatrice escorted me to my first class, where I had to explain why I had showed up on the second day of school, not the first, for about the twentieth time that day.

"We missed our first plane. We should have been here a week ago, but we had to—" The teacher cut me off.

"I don't care _why_, I only care that you're _late_," he told me. "Now _sit. down_." I scrambled to the seat next to Garret.

"That's Roy's seat. You know, not that I mind or anything." He winked at me and I gave him a funny look. In his dreams.

"Just for today," I whispered to him as the lesson started. Where was Roy, anyway? The rest of the day passed by uneventful, and he _still_ hadn't shown up. I sat with Beatrice and her soccer friends at lunch, but I felt weird, uncomfortable. I wished Roy was there. He was easy to talk to.


	4. Chapter 4

**If anyone is confused who Jarred is in Chapter 2, that was supposed to say Garret. Sorry! I fixed the typo, though. So guess what? I found the story traffic button AND TWO WHOLE PEOPLE HAVE VIEWED MY STORY! YAY! But neither reviewed soo… :( Anyway, enjoy chapter four, and remember that I only own Melanie, her family, new scenes, and things like that.**

**Chapter 4-** BEATRICE

What was that Cowgirl up to? Who was he chasing? Oh, who am I kidding, I _know_ who he was chasing. To prove my theory, I talked to Mullet last night, and he said there was a kid running after him. A kid who fits Ebberhart's description. But the worst part is, Roy's dad works with the law. If Cowgirl can't keep a secret, then everyone will know where Mullet is hiding. I hate when he comes out in the open like that, but I can't stop him. He says he just _needs_ to run sometimes, and there's nothing he can do about it. _It is going to be okay_, I soothed myself. I was going to have a nice little chat with Ebberhart, and then everything would be fine.

I cornered him as he was stepping outside with his lunch tray. "You almost knocked me over yesterday. Why were you running?"

"Maybe because I had just broken the nose of the meanest kid in school," he answered.

"Oh, I heard all about that, Cowgirl. But that's not why you ran off, was it?" I said. I grabbed his lunch tray.

"Just let go." At this, I shoved the tray into him and he slammed into the wall behind him.

"Ow!"

"Tell the truth," I ordered. "You were chasing somebody, right?" He looked at me in shock.

"You saw him too? The kid with no shoes?"

"Oh, I didn't see anything," I said, shaking my head, "and if you know what's good for you, neither did you. Got it?" I let go of his tray and stomped over to a table, where Melanie was sitting, all by herself.

"Hey, what was that about?" she asked.

"Nothing," I said.

"O…kay. Anyway, I was going to talk to Roy too, you know, see what happened after he took off yesterday and didn't come back."

"No. No you weren't," I said assertively. She looked confused.

"Yes, I was, actually."

"Look. _Nothing_ happened yesterday that you _or_ me need to know about," I said, getting my point across.

"Okay…. I get it," she said, looking a bit unsure. I made my voice less serious.

"So, why are you sitting over here. Let's go sit with, you know, our _friends_," I said, pointing to the girls on my soccer team.

"Bee, I don't think they like me very much."

"That's ridiculous. Now let's go." I pulled her up from her seat. We passed Roy and Garret, sitting alone. Melanie smiled wide and waved to them. I dragged her away.


	5. Chapter 5

**And here's another chapter! If you're wondering how I'm getting them done so fast, it's because I'm sick today… :'( So keep in mind that it won't always be like this. I just write fast and the chapters are shortish.**

**Okay, so once again, I do not own Coconut Cove, Bee, Mulletfingers, Roy, Mother Paula's, etc., etc.**

**Chapter 5-** ROY

Beatrice was on my case again. Wouldn't let me sit next to Melanie on the bus; she was afraid I would blab about the barefoot kid. Which I would do, once we got off. Kids looked at me funny. Not only was I new, but I had punched Dana, the most feared kid in school, right in the face. Garret said I was a legend, but I didn't want the extra attention. It was bad enough explaining it to my parents, you know, after I regained consciousness. My mom practically had a break down when the police brought me home, and now they were making me write an apology to Dana. _I_ was the one who deserved an apology. And then, they had the nerve to say it was too forceful. The kid was _choking_ me. And I have Melanie to testify. Anyway, it's a good thing that he hasn't been in school because of it, because then he'd be after the both of us, me _and _Melanie. Me, fine. But just leave the poor girl alone. It wasn't her fault she sat next to me.

_This_ is what happens when you're the new kid, and it almost makes me feel like moving again.

The bus lurched to a stop, _my_ stop, but I didn't notice. I was thinking too hard. Melanie almost hopped off the bus, but stopped just in time. "Roy! Aren't you coming?" At the sound of her voice, I jumped off and got out of there as fast as I could. I needed to tell her. Right before I left, Beatrice gave me a warning glare.

"You were chasing a butterfly, Ebberhart. And that's that." I glared back before stepping off and calling out Melanie's name.

"Hey, wait up!" I jogged towards her. She slowed down.

"So what happened after you got off the bus yesterday? You disappeared," she said. I looked around us, checking if anyone was in earshot.

"Come here." I pulled her by her backpack towards the side of my house.

"Where are we going?" she asked, tensing up.

"If I told you, would you promise not to tell Beatrice? Or anyone for that matter."

"Sure," she said.

"No. You've got to swear on… on something," I said, but I wasn't sure what.

"Fine. Roy Ebberhart, I swear _on your grave_ that I will not tell Beatrice what you are about to tell me." She giggled as she said it. I had meant something important to her, but that worked too.

"I think I should be worried, but I'll take that." For some reason, I trusted her. She slid to the ground, pulling me down with her.

"Now tell me," she prompted.

"So I saw this kid, my first day here. Dana was mashing my face against the bus window, and I saw him. He was running, so incredibly fast, and he had no shoes on. I've never seen someone run that fast," I began. She nodded for me to continue. I pulled grass out of the ground, shredding it to bits. "And when I stood up and moved to the other side of you on the bus, I saw him again. That's why I told Dana I had to go. I had to know who he was. There's no other schools in the area, and he looked our age. I thought about homeschooling, but he looked… wild, running barefoot. I just wanted to help him." I paused, and Melanie suddenly knocked the grass out of my hand. She gave me a funny look.

"Sorry, but you're _killing _the lawn." I smiled and brushed my hands off. She nudged me. "Keep going."

I started up again. "So, you know, after I broke Dana's nose, I decided it would be a good idea to get the heck out of there. I ran after the kid, but he was too fast. I kept going and going, and we finally got to a golf coarse. I guess I didn't realize where I was, but I couldn't run any more. I don't know how that kid does it. And then…" I stopped and smiled, not sure if she would laugh at the next part. "And then I looked up and got hit by a golf ball. Passed out." I lifted up the hair that was covering the lump on my head and grinned. She looked up and laughed.

"Hey! It's not that funny," I said, but then I was laughing too.

"Yes it is." I gave her a look, but she just wrinkled her nose at me.

"_Any_way, Beatrice has been after me, making sure I don't tell anyone."

"Yeah, she's been keeping me away from you. She won't let me do anything but sit with her soccer friends who _hate_ me. But Bee's got another side to her too. She's not as tough as she seems," she said, looking down at her hands.

"_You're_ tougher than you seem," I said, one hundred percent truthful. She looked sad at that.

"Yeah, I know. People think they'll break me, like I'm made of glass. But I'm _not_." She set her jaw in pride.

"I know you're not, but I sure wouldn't leave you with Dana. I wouldn't leave _anyone_ with Dana. Not even Beatrice. He's afraid of her because she can outsmart him, not outfight him." Melanie looked up at me and half-smiled. Then a horrible thought struck me. "Hey, did Dana go after you once I left?" Se shook her head and smiled at the worried look on my face.

"Nah, I had Beatrice," she said. I was relieved. I couldn't forgive myself if I got her pounded by Dana. She opened her mouth to say something else but then looked up and pointed out a police cruiser pulling up to the curb. I pulled her up and walked over. The guy inside looked nice enough. Overly friendly, maybe.

"Howdy, kids. Would the two of you mind running down to the docks and giving this letter to a Mr. Platt? Ask around for his boat," he told us.

"Sorry, sir, but I can't. My mom'll be mad if I'm any later. She wouldn't let me," I lied. The truth was that I had to deliver my apology to that fat lump, Dana.

"I'll do it, sir. I don't have anything else to do. My parents won't mind," Melanie piped up. I tensed. She shouldn't be out alone. Besides, it would be dark in a while.

"All by yourself?" the police man asked, squinting his eyes at us.

"No, really, it's fine. I'll take my bike and bring my cell phone. Nothing will happen. And I like to get out and explore," she said. I wished I could go with her, hold off apologizing until tomorrow, but I knew my mom wouldn't stand for it.

"Alright, if you're sure you'll be okay…." The officer seemed unsure.

"I will," she assured him. "I'll start out right away. I just have to drop my bag off at my house and make sure it's okay with my parents. If not, my brother can always come with me." That made me feel better. I had forgotten that she had an older brother. The officer waved to us and drove off. I turned to Melanie.

"Are you crazy? You'll get lost," I told her.

"I _told_ you. I like exploring."

"You're out of your mind," I told her, but I still grabbed her bag off the ground and turned to walk her home. She tried to take her bag from me, but she couldn't.

"You don't have to do that, I can get home fine," she protested. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Just keep walking, will you?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Who's ready for Mel to meet Mulletfingers? ME! Probably only me…. Anyway, I don't own anything except for made up characters, scenes, lines, etc., etc.**

**Chapter 6-** MELANIE

It was a good thing my parents weren't home. I mean, who was I kidding, there was no _way_ they would let me walk all the way there alone. But I hadn't expected Robbie to get all overprotective. Maybe it was because Roy was there holding open the door for me when I came in. Holding _my_ backpack and guiding _me_ forward with a hand on the small of my back. Robbie's got this whole "No boys 'til you're twenty!" policy. It's like his tagline.

I took my backpack from Roy and was about to head upstairs and set it down in my room when Robbie walked out from his hiding spot behind a wall. He scared me out of my wits. I nearly shrieked.

"Robbie! You scared me!"

"Serves you right. And _what_ is this?" he asked, advancing on Roy. Roy's eyes got big and I quickly wedged myself in between them.

"His name is Roy," I said stubbornly.

"Wrong. _That,_ Mel, is a boy."

"Stating the obvious?" I replied.

Roy stepped out from behind me and spoke up. "Hey, I just walked her home from the bus stop. It's kind of dark out," he said.

"Then why is she so late, huh? What were you guys doing before?" Robbie was relentless, so I shoved him. He pretended that it hurt.

"Robbie, go away! We're only late because some police officer gave us a letter to deliver for him," I practically yelled, holding up the letter, "Which I'm going to be doing _now_."

"Oh, and don't worry, Robbie. I can't come with her." Roy was braver than I thought.

"That's Robert to you," Robbie said, glaring. I rolled my eyes, grabbed my cell phone off the side table by the couch, and pulled Roy out the door by the arm, slamming the door behind me.

"Sorry, Roy. He's not always like that," I said as I grabbed my bike. Roy laughed.

"Just around guys?"

"Yup," I answered. After a long pause we reached his house.

"If you want, I can come with you. Dana can wait," he said. It was a sweet offer, but I wanted to go alone. I wanted to _be_ alone.

"I am _not_ scared, Roy," I said. "I'm not a china teacup." I set my jaw stubbornly and he sighed.

"I never said you were. I would be scared by myself too. Here, I'll let you go if you call me the second you get back. Okay?" he said.

"But I don't have your—" I started, but he cut me off, holding his hand out for my phone. I handed it to him, and he plugged in his number. I tried to take it back, but he held it just out of reach, and he didn't even have to extend his arm all the way to do it.

"If you don't call me by 7:30 I'm hunting you down myself," Roy insisted.

"Okay, okay, I'll be back by then," I said, standing as tall as my tippy-toes would let me. He let me beg for another twenty seconds before giving it back to me.

"Bye, Roy," I said, hopping on my bike. I kicked off, but Roy stopped me, grabbing the handlebars.

"Just… be careful, okay?" He was so sweet. No, he was beyond sweet.

"_Bye_, Roy," I said for the second time. He smiled and waved to me, letting go of my handlebars. As I neared the end of the neighborhood, I looked over my shoulder, and he was still there, his hands stuffed in his pockets, kicking at the ground. I tried to clear my mind of him and focus on my surroundings. I stayed on the sidewalk and looked up at the blue Florida sky.


	7. Chapter 7

**Yeah, yeah. I know I said that Melanie would meet Mulletfingers last chapter, but I just got caught up and the chapter got too long, but NOW she can meet him. From HIS point of view. Ready? Oh, and writing that I don't own what belongs to the writer/movie director/whatever of Hoot every single chapter is getting really annoying, so from now on I'm going to just do it once per story and that's it. After one time I think you guys get the idea.**

**Chapter 7-** MULLETFINGERS

I met an amazing girl that day. I had caught a baby alligator and I was going to take it over to the construction site at midnight. If anyone could stop those jerks over at Mother Paula's, it would be me. I had already tied it's jaws together and was stuffing it into a big canvas bag when I heard footsteps overhead. I thought it must be Bee coming with clean laundry or news on that Ebberhart kid who had been following me. But it didn't sound like Bee. Usually she would stomp and let me know she was there, but these footsteps were soft, bouncy.

"Mr. … Platt?" Definitely not Beatrice. "Hello? I have a letter for you." And down stepped that amazing girl. She had feathery hair down to the top of her waist and these incredible eyes that seemed to see right through you. She was like one of those porcelain dolls that Bee still had from when she was little, the ones she didn't want anyone to know about. This girl was one of them come to life. Her bangs cuts straight across her forehead, almost reaching her eyes, and her hair settled just right around her face. She was so small, fragile looking.

And there I was, standing with a gator trying to snap at my hands, my hair overgrown and my clothes sopping with water and mud.

"Oh… sorry. I guess I have the wrong boat. I'll just see myself out," she said, turning to go. But I didn't want her to leave, not yet anyway. So I lied.

"No, uh, this is his boat. I'll give him the message." She didn't look convinced.

"I really should give it to him myself, I got the letter from a police officer and I don't think he would be very happy if—"

"Don't worry. If he gave it to some kid to deliver then it can't be that important," I said, trying my best to be charming.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she said, handing me the letter. "But before I go, could I.…" She paused and blushed. "Hold the alligator?" I gave her a funny look. I'd thought she was just a pretty face, you know, not the girl for me. But once those words came out of her mouth, I knew she was more. I grinned and pulled the gator out of the bag.

"Watch the teeth," I warned, handing it carefully to her. She reached out with her small hands and took it gingerly from me, but I kept a hand underneath of it for support. "Smells a bit like the swamp, right?" She did this thing where she scrunched up her nose and smiled, an expression that I would be seeing a lot, but I didn't know it then. She just nodded and tucked a bit of hair behind her ear.

"She's so sweet," the girl said.

"How'd you know it's a she?" I asked. She shrugged.

"I just guessed," she said. She'd guessed right.

"Hey, if you like gators that much, then I have something to show you. You know, if you'll come with me." I said, taking a chance. I would hunt down Mr. Platt later.

"Sure, but how far are we going?" she asked cautiously, which was good. She knew not to trust just anyone. But I wanted her to trust me.

"Not far," I said. I wrapped the baby gator back up and guided her to the small motor boat docked outside. The one that I "borrowed" occasionally. I pointed to the swamp in the distance. "See there? That's where we're going," I told her. Right then, she got a conflicted look on her face, debating whether she should go with me or not.

"Why should I come with you? I don't even know your name," she said, crossing her arms. But she couldn't know my name. They were after me. I shouldn't be in this town.

"Just trust me," I said, giving her a smile that I hoped would make her believe me. It worked. She stepped into the boat and took the passenger seat.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked, smiling. I grinned and hoped down alongside her, and we headed towards the swamp.

The rest of the time went by wonderfully fast. I guess she'd thought that I'd be showing her where I found the baby, or its siblings, not its mama. Her eyes got big, bigger than they already were, and she froze up at the sight of that eight foot gator. I just laughed at her. We were far enough away and out of the water. It wasn't like I'd brought her to come swimming with the alligators. The gator saw us and moved into the water, heading towards us. But she didn't look like she wanted to attack, she just looked curious, maybe as to where her baby had gone. But still, the girl sucked in a breath and grabbed onto my arm, looking genuinely scared.

"Can we go… _now_," Her voice shook and he dug her nails into my arm. I just laughed it off.

"She won't hurt you," I assured her, but, nevertheless, I started up the boat, frightening the big gator and making her thrash in the water. The girl jumped and shrieked, looking so scared I thought she might pee her pants. It made me laugh as we sped away.

Back on the docks, we got to talking. Her name was Melanie, which might just be one of the prettiest-sounding names I've ever heard. When she asked me why I had captured that baby gator, I wasn't prepared. So I made something up, But she didn't look like she bought it.

"Gee, it's getting dark. Maybe you should get home," I said, trying to cover up my lame excuse. The moment it popped out of my mouth, a look of horror washed over her. She jumped up and started running. She was fast. _Real_ fast. She was tougher than she looked, the way she flew.


	8. Chapter 8

**So guys, I've decided that if I don't get a review by the end of this week, meaning Sunday the 12th, I will cry. And it will not be fun. But the worst part is I know you guys are out there, and you don't even have to sign in to review if you're too lazy to. Just leave an anonymous one. So, if you don't do it, then I will become EXTREMELY depressed and it will be All. Your. Fault. So are you going to review? Pleeeeaaaaase? DO IT. I mean, what's the point of writing if no one will tell you if it's any good or not.**

**Chapter 8- **ROY

Where was she? It was eight o'clock, and there was no way my mom would let me out to look for her. I was starting to get worried, and I cursed myself for not getting her number so I could call and make sure she was okay. I looked outside my window and saw that there were no cars in her driveway, not even her brother's. No one to call her. No one to look for her. No one to even realize she was gone.

I checked the time. Eight fifteen. That was it; I was going to look for her. I studied the tree outside of my window. No way could I get down that, it was such a long drop. So I snuck downstairs where my dad was attempting to get some shut eye by the TV and my mom was doing the crossword puzzles in the newspaper. I got down on my hands and knees and crawled towards the door. _Almost_ _there_.

"Roy, what are you doing?" my mom asked, not looking up from her newspaper, as if she had eyes in the back of her head.

I got up quickly and said, "I just needed some fresh air. I wasn't sure if you would let me go," I lied. "It's dark." It was dark. Melanie puts on this show of being tough, but I see through it. Wherever she was, she was scared, and I knew that for a fact.

"Oh, sure, honey. Go take a walk around the neighborhood. But don't stray," she said. I would be straying, though. Maybe getting lost.

"Sure, Mom. Thanks!" I practically ran out the door, but she stopped me.

"Roy," she said, "fifteen minutes." How the heck was I supposed to find her in fifteen minutes? And I couldn't even use my bike, Mom would hear the garage door opening. As I stepped outside, I wrapped my arms around myself, not expecting the cold. Was Melanie cold, right now? I didn't waste any time thinking about it, though. Instead, I shook the thought out of my head and I ran.

` Just as I was rounding the street corner, my phone rang. _Please be Mel, please be Mel, please be Mel. _I picked up and sure enough, there was her voice on the other end of the line. Except it was more high pitched, shaking. She was either shivering or scared. Probably both.

"Roy? I know I told you I'd call, but… I forgot. I… I'm fine. At home," she lied, and it was painfully obvious.

"Don't lie to me, Mel. Where are you?" There was a long pause.

"Walking home," she said after a bit. "And I'm close, don't worry. And _don't_ come looking for me. I'm not scared." More lies.

"Yes, you are. Too late though. I'm already outside."

"Hey, do you feel that?"

"What?"

"Rain," she said. I stopped and looked up. There _was_ rain.

"Now I do." It had started to come down faster now, a light drizzle. "Hey, stay put, okay? I'll come to you. Just get somewhere dry. And stay on the phone with me," I said. She couldn't be too far. "And before you say anything, I'm not taking no for an answer."

"But—" she started.

"No buts," I said. The rain got faster and started coming down harder, real quick. I ran and ran until I found her, sitting beneath a huge tree by the side walk with her chin on her knees.

"Roy!" she cried as soon as she saw me. And she had said she wasn't scared. Just then, there was a big crack of thunder and a jagged lightning bolt came shooting across the sky. She yelped. I rushed to her. Her teeth were chattering.

"Hey, let's get back, quick." She nodded and pulled herself off of the now-muddy ground. Then I noticed her bike.

"You can't bring that back. It's metal; you'll be electrocuted."

"But I can't leave it," she said. We were right around where our bus stopped and dropped off some kids before us.

"We'll leave it in the bushes until tomorrow. We can get off the bus two stops early and take it back then," I said, dragging it into the bushes next to us. She nodded, biting her lip to keep it from trembling. I wish I'd brought a sweatshirt. She was shaking.

"We can't get home now. It's dangerous." She had a point. There were only a few tall trees around us, and there was more lightning now.

"You're right. Get down on the ground. _Away_ from that big tree." I laid down on my stomach on the muddy ground. She did the same, cringing whenever a roll of thunder washed over.

"Where were you?" I asked.

"I got lost," she answered. I lifted an eyebrow, as if to say, "I told you so". She smiled, but it disappeared when a squirrel jumped out of a tree behind her. She nearly jumped at the sound.

"You're scared, aren't you? What happened to 'I'm not a china teacup'?" I said, grinning. She shivered.

"Alright, I admit. I'm scared, but only because it's dark, and cold, and I was alone before," she said. "Besides, everyone can be scared, once in a while."

"Don't be, though. You're not alone anymore. And if anything tried to sneak up behind you, I'd see it before it could," I said, smiling. But now my teeth were starting to chatter, so it wasn't very convincing.

"Are you _cold_, Roy?" she asked mischievously. But her attempt to get the better of me was ruined because there was another flash of lightening and she yelped again. I put an arm around her and pulled her in closer, trying to get her warm but also make her feel safer.

"It's okay, it's almost over," I said, but I guess my words weren't very soothing. The rain had lightened and there was hardly any more of the deafening thunder. She just shut her eyes closed tight and wrapped her arms around herself, shrinking closer against me. The rain had lightened to a drizzle after a bit, so I poked Melanie in the arm. "Come on, it's better now. Let's head home," I said. It wasn't that I wanted to get up while I was with her, laying so close together, but my mom was probably having a break down. It had been a _lot_ longer than fifteen minutes. She nodded and I helped her up.

And like that the rain had stopped altogether. Typical unpredictable Florida weather. A second ago we were in a hurricane and now we were out on a cool, nighttime stroll. We walked in silence. She leaned against me the whole way back, and I kept my arm around her. I didn't mind. She kept me warm. We passed my house and reached her driveway. There was still no one home.

"If you hurry," I said, "you can get cleaned up and they won't even know you were ever gone." She smiled.

"Yeah, they'll be out for another half hour. I'm not sure where Robbie went, though. He's probably just in love with his new car so much that he can't bear a moment without it." I laughed at that.

"You have a key, right?" She nodded, pulling it out of the back pocket of her shorts.

"Bye, then," I said. She waved back and I started up her driveway.

When I got home, my mom was fast asleep in her chair. I got a blanket for her before locking up and heading upstairs to wash the mud off of me. But before I left, the newspaper caught my eye. I picked it up and eyed the front page story. It was about vandalism going on down at the Mother Paula's construction site in town. First, the vandals had pulled up some survey stakes. Then, alligators, the biggest four feet long, were found in the portapotties on the site. So they had a police officer stake out the premises, but when he woke up, the windows on his car were covered in black spray paint. It was an interesting story. I mean, who wouldn't want a pancake house in Coconut Cove? The mayor was going on and on about how it would boost the town's economy. The article really got me thinking, but I wasn't sure why… I just couldn't put my finger on it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Guess whattt? I HAVE ONE WHOLE REVIEW! Just saying, I, like, LOVE you right now, DoodYouFail… though not in a creepy way, so don't be scared :P So guys, you've seen how happy this has made me, and it was Saturday, not Sunday when I found the delightful review, so maybe it will inspire you to right reviews for me just like she/he did? Because twenty-four hours later, I would have been very sad, as I explained in my last A/N. But I'm not! And it's all thanks to you, DoodYouFail. :D … though your name didn't encourage me very much…**

**Chapter 9- **BEATRICE

_Clunk_. Cowgirl plunked his tray down next to me and slid onto the bench. It was a good thing Melanie wasn't here yet. I knew he'd told her, but I wasn't ready to find out just how much of it. For, now, I'd just have to deal with him, starting with whatever bizarre idea that was going through his head when he decided to sit next to me at lunch, at the table with all my minion soccer friends.

"What is your problem," I asked, turning to him.

"I think you're the one with the problem." My mouth flew open at this, and the girl across from me gasped. How dare he! "Beatrice," he said, and I cursed myself for staring at him, at his brownish, green eyes, "I have no idea why you're mad about what happened on the bus, because you're not the one who got choked and you're not the one who got punched in the nose. So if I did something to upset you, then I'm sorry. It wasn't on purpose. So next time you have a problem, just tell me, and we can sit down and talk about it, like civilized human beings. Okay?"

"Civilized?" I said, snorting. But in my head I respected him. He was bold, and I liked it. _What are you saying_, scolded myself. Then he rolled his eyes and got up.

"Are we straight in this?" he asked, breaking his sincere stare that just held your eyes and didn't let go. I glared at him, tilting my head upwards intimidatingly.

"Good," he said, even though I hadn't nodded, "then I'm glad we had this chance to get to know each other just a little bit better." I didn't stop glaring. And like that he was gone. That girl across from me spoke up.

"Kinda cute, don't you think?" she said. I snapped my head in her direction, making her change her words. "In a way that's not cute at all," she finished. I gave her a "that's better" look and glanced over my shoulder. There he was. If only he wasn't. Cute, I, mean. I wish it wasn't true, but I couldn't help thinking it. As I was staring at him laughing, I realized suddenly who he was laughing with.

I was going to kill her. She was twirling her hair and nudging Garret in the arm, all the while staring at the Cowgirl. _My_ Cowgirl. I practically threw myself out of my seat, barging over there. I slammed my hands down onto the table, so hard her milk spilled all over her lunch. Serves her right.

Their laughing stopped. "Beatrice, my food!" she said, distraught.

"Oh, get over it. Besides, you don't need it. You eat like a pig," I said. Her jaw dropped. It was true; she did. And she was a stick. It just wasn't fair. I had to play soccer to stay in shape and she could flit around town doing who knows what, whenever she wanted.

"Hey, Beatrice. No need to take your anger towards me out on other people," Roy said. Typical. He thought this was all about him, which it was, but still.

"Oh, don't give yourself the satisfaction. This isn't about you," I said, turning to Melanie. "Consorting the enemy, are we now." I wanted to rip that smug look right off of her little face.

"I—" she started.

"You'll regret it." As I flounced back to my table, I took one look back and saw something that broke my poor little heart, maybe the only breakable thing about me. Roy ripping his sandwich down the middle and giving her the bigger half.


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm soo soo soooo so sorry about not updating for a while… I wasn't feeling well and I had lots of homework :( BUT THAT'S OKAY CAUSE OVER THAT PERIOD OF TIME I HAVE GOTTEN REVIEWS! Maureen… yours was just uncalled for… this is why no one was supposed to know I write fanfiction. Shannon… yours was tolerable. Haha just kidding I love you guys. Oh, and to the reviewers who I do not know: YOUR AWESOME! I love you just as much.**

**By the way, I wrote in the last chapter that Roy has brownish green eyes… well, I wasn't too sure so that was a guess. Later, I looked it up and learned it was a bad guess. Just pretend it says they're blue, kay?**

**Chapter 10- **ROY

So, I might be crazy, but I just _had_ to know. Where were this kid's parents? He had looked so alone, like he needed help. And I knew I could help him, if he'd let me. Sure, I wasn't too crazy about going back to the golf coarse, you know, the bump had faded but there was still the memory of it, but it was the last place I saw the barefoot kid. I knew he lived there, or somewhere near by. So I called up Melanie.

We met at the entrance to the golf coarse, and we dragged our bikes across to the bushes along its perimeter. While we talked, I had a feeling that there was something wrong. She doubted it. She thought I was crazy. But there was something else there. Hesitation? Uncertainty, maybe?

"You don't believe me, do you," I said, shaking my head. She bit her lip.

"It's not that it's just… I… never mind." I wanted to tell her to spit it out, but I decided against it. Let her think what she wants, because I knew we'd find him and prove my sanity.

"Whatever," I said, pushing open a section of the bushes for her. She slipped in and I followed. We had reached the back of a boat, a campsite, it looked like. "Hello?" I called. "Anybody here?" Melanie began coughing and waving away the smoke from a small fire pit in front of her.

"Well, _someone_ was here, and not too long ago by the looks of this fire," she said, but still, she bit her lip, making me feel like there was something she wasn't telling me. I shook off the feeling. Next to the fire were two bags: a white trash bag and a tan sack. Melanie picked up the trash bag and dumped a pair of clothes onto a log. Looking at the clothes, I realized that it _must_ be his campsite, the barefoot kid's. They looked about right. Then, I moved to the leather sack. A mistake. A _big_ one, I now know.

Out of the sack came a bunch of coal black cottonmouths as angry as bees when you've shaken their hive. I heard a scream, though I couldn't tell if it was me or Melanie. Maybe it was the both of us. I pushed her away from me, into the bushes.

"This is not good," I said, staring down at the white bellies of the writhing snakes.

"I wouldn't move if I were you," came an unfamiliar voice from behind me. I didn't dare turn my head to look.

"Wasn't planning on it, not with cottonmouths," I said.

"I want you to step back, real slowly." The voice was calm. Too calm. "On three. One…"

"I don't think so."

"Two…" he continued. I shook my head.

"Nope. No way."

"_Three._" And with that, I felt arms grab me from behind, pulling me backwards. I knew it was him, the barefoot kid. I felt the sack that had held the cottonmouths being roughly pulled over my head.

"Wait! What are you doing?" I yelled.

"Who are you and why are you here?" the kid demanded.

"Name's Roy," I said. "Look, I saw you running from the school bus yesterday. I didn't come here to hassle you, I just want to talk."

"You're gonna have to get out of here, like right now. Let's go." He pulled me up, being far from gentle. And then it struck me. Melanie. Where was she?

"Alright. But there was a girl. Short. Brown hair. Big eyes. D'you see her?"

"Don't worry. I scared her away. Now get outta here!"

"Alright, alright. But why do you have those snakes in a bag?"

"That's my business and mine only. Just leave me alone," he said.

"Where are you taking me," I asked. The inside of the heavy sack was hot and smelled of what a cottonmouth must smell like, you know, if I knew how one smelled.

"Just walk and don't turn around until you count to fifty. If you ever come back here again you're gonna wake up one morning with one of them big old cottonmouths in your bed. Alright? Now start countin'" He gave me a shove and I could here him running back.

"One… two… three… four… five… six." By the time I got to ten I had given up and pulled off the sack. I wiped the sweat off my brow before hearing the all-too-familiar cries of golfers behind me.

"Fort! Move it, kid!" After that, all I could see were stars. Sure, I could feel Melanie's cool hand touching the spot where I'd gotten hit and, sure, I could hear her voice calling my name, but none of that is any good if I can't respond. Right then, all I could do was sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry it's been like forever and a day… I'm really sorry guys. Sometimes I get really into writing a particular story and write like ten chapters a week but then I get bored and it takes a while to get back into it…. Forgive me?**

**I'm thinking this may turn out to be a lot longer than I intended… seeing as I'm only twenty-five minutes through the movie. So if I ever get lazy, feel free to yell at me for an update. Kay? Oh, and one last thing, to my reviewer who corrected me on the Fort thing, I apologize. Gotta brush up on those golf terms :P. Now, without further ado, I present to you (drum roll) CHAPTER 11!**

**Chapter 11-** MELANIE

It was a far drop. _Don't chicken out now! You have to do this,_ I told myself. It was true. If alligator boy was ever going to trust me, he had to know that I didn't lead Roy to him. It wasn't until we'd reached the golf course that I got suspicious that maybe my alligator boy and Roy's barefoot kid were the same person. I knew that the boat was docked on the other side of the golf course, but I didn't want it to be true.

I took a deep breath and slid out onto the windowsill. If I could just get my dangling feet down to the open window below, I could slide inside without anyone hearing me on the creaking stairs. From there, I could slip into the living room and out the door. So I lifted my bookcase, which was by the window, and put one corner of my bed comforter underneath of it. Then, I got back up on the windowsill and tested my makeshift rope. I slowly slid outside, but I froze in midair. I couldn't move. I should've been worried about falling, but I wasn't. I just dangled, wondering what passing cars must be thinking of a girl trying, but failing, to sneak out of her room in broad daylight. With that in mind, I forced myself to slide down a bit farther. From there, I could almost reach the top of the window below. If only I was a bit taller, if my arms and legs were a bit longer. I struggled, kicking and reaching towards the window, and I can only imagine what I had looked like. Suddenly, from below, I heard a noise.

"_What_ are you doing? You're gonna kill yourself." The voice frightened me, because I'd thought I was alone. I yelped and let go of the comforter, landing awkwardly in the bushes five feet below. I heard laughter. Roy's laughter. I pulled myself up and punched him in the arm, red faced.

"_I_ was going to kill myself? You almost killed _me_." I shoved him, but he kept laughing. "What's so funny?" I asked.

"Nothing. You've just got a big old caterpillar in your hair," he said, trying to hold back a smile as I started screaming.

"Get it off! Get it off! Getitoffgetitoffgetitoff!" I started jumping up and down, swinging my hair back and forth. Sure, caterpillars are cute and fuzzy, but I wasn't too crazy about having one in my hair.

"Okay, okay. Hold still." Roy plucked it off, holding it up for me to see. This wasn't your average fuzzy caterpillar, but one of those slimy green fat ones. I shuddered.

"Ew," I said, rubbing the spot where it was, trying to get the creepy-crawly feeling to go away. "So, not to be rude or anything, but why are you here?"

"Well, not to be rude or anything, but why were you hanging from a window?" he asked, grinning.

I couldn't tell him where I was going. I couldn't. So I lied. "I… I was trying to get downstairs and I didn't want anyone to hear me because… because Robby's a light sleeper. He was up all night studying." I let out a sigh of relief. It was a pretty good alibi.

"Okay…. Anyway, did you see the paper? There's an article about a Mother Paula's they're building over in that big lot by the docks. Apparently, there's been vandalism, _major_ vandalism, going on over their. They found alligators in the toilets and someone spray painted a police cruiser's windows black with the officer inside. And this may sound crazy but I… I think it was the barefoot kid. If he could handle cottonmouths, couldn't he handle alligators? I think so," he said. My heart skipped a beat. Barefoot boy had an alligator. And he wasn't the tiniest bit afraid of it.

"So…" I hesitated, "what does this mean? Why would he want to stop them from building a pancake house?"

"I don't know. But I want to find out. That's why we're going to check out the lot for ourselves," he said. I figured it couldn't hurt. I could go talk to barefoot boy later on.

"I'm up for it if you are," I said.

As we pedaled towards the lot, my mind was full of thoughts and theories. I didn't want to think that the barefoot kid could have done anything wrong. He just seemed so….

"Stop it. Don't think about it anymore; you might never see him again. Ever," I told myself, willing it not to be true. As I shook thoughts of him from of my head, I glanced over at Roy. He had that look that he gets when he's concentrating on his face and he was pedaling deliberately slowly, as if he didn't ever want to get there. My eyes fell on the bump on his forehead from where the golf ball had hit him. When I found him, laying there motionless on the golf course, he wouldn't answer me. Well, at least not with actual words. It had worried me, made me so anxious that to keep myself from tears I had to remind myself that I was tougher than I looked. I don't know why I felt like this, but I did. It was almost as if… as if I truly cared what happened to him. And more than "just a friend" would.


	12. Chapter 12

**I've finally gotten off my lazy butt to write another chapter! The problem is, whenever I get onto fanfiction I start reading… and then time flies by… and then I forget completely about writing…. So, yeah.**

**Oh, and in case you guys haven't noticed already, I have tons and tons of Roy and Melanie chapters. I'm trying my best to get other characters in, but… I just like Roy. He's cute. And Melanie is sorta kinda the main character here, I guess, so she's unavoidable. **

**Who's ready for yet _another_ Roy chapter? ME!**

**PS: This chapter really, really stinks. As in the writing is horrible, so don't expect much. **

**Chapter 12-** ROY

I hopped of my bike and kicked down the stand, Melanie right behind me.

_Chirp. Chirp._ At the sudden noise, I whipped around.

"Do you hear that too?" Melanieasked, looking over her shoulder.

"Yup. It's coming from behind thefence," I said. As I knelt down, something moved and caught my eye, the chirping getting louder.

"Hey, little guy," I said, grinning at the small, brown and white owl coming out of its hole before me.

"Aw, it's adorable. Who knew there were burrowing owls here?" Melanie's hand on my shoulder and her warm breath on the back of my neck made my skin tingle.

"Not me, that's for sure. Look, there are more," I said, gesturing to the holes in the ground all over the lot. Just then, there was a crash as the door to a trailer not too far from the fence was thrown open. Out came a man in a dirty pair of worn jeans and a white undershirt. And he looked angry.

"What are you doin' here?" he shouted. I stood up. "What do you and your punk friends have planned for tonight?" he continued. I put up my arms and shook my head in confusion.

"What? Nothing!" Melanie yelled, not too happy with being blamed for something she knew nothing about. At this, the man started towards us, fuming.

"Okay, time to go," I said, shoving her towards our bikes. We hopped on and pedaled faster than we ever had.

"That's right! You better run. Run you little twerps!" the man screamed after us. "And don't you ever come back."

As we made a run for it, we somehow found our way to the docks. It must have been fate. It wasn't until then that we slowed down.

"That was close," Melanie said breathlessly. I nodded.

"Since we're here… I was thinking we might as well go check on the barefoot kid. I brought him shoes," I said, gesturing to my backpack. Melanie shook her head.

"No. He told us to stay away. I think we should," she said.

"Come on. We won't let him see you; hide in the bushes or something and I'll talk to him. I just want to make sure he's still alive. After that we leave the shoes and go," I told her. She stood there for a second, biting her lip.

"Fine," she finally said, "but only if we get ice cream afterwards." I grinned and pulled her along after me.


	13. Chapter 13

**Again, I'm sorry I'm getting so lazy with my updates… I really do try, but, as you can see, my attention span isn't the largest. I'M JUST ONE 13 YEAR OLD GIRL! Anyway, thank you all for not complaining, and, to Meggy, patience is a virtue :D **

**Chapter 13-** BEATRICE

I reached Mulletfingers' boat and began to pull the food and clean clothes I had brought for him out of my bag. "Here's the stuff you wanted," I said, without even a hello. That's just how our relationship worked. We communicated, just not so much with words, and we were close, without showing it. "I also brought my special banana-mango loaf," I added, with a hint of a smile.

"_Special?_" he asked, grinning devilishly. "I don't think I'd feed that to a gator." He pretended to inspect it in disgust while I shot him a look. "I'm kidding," he said, looking up. "You know I love your cooking."

"You know," I said, after a moment of silence, "you can't stay out here forever." The smile drained from his face.

"What? Is there anybody looking for me?"

"No," I said, shaking my head, "not yet, but I can only cover for you for so long before you get caught."

"I know. And I've been trying to stay out of sight, but I've only got a few days left to stop them." I cared about the owls just as much as he did, but it seemed as though our efforts were just going to get him sent away again.

"Hello?" a voice cried out suddenly, breaking my train of thought. It was a voice I knew. A voice I knew well. It was Roy Ebberhart. "Hello?" he called again.

"That's that kid that's been following me around," Mulletfingers said. I stood up and began walking towards his voice.

"Don't worry. I'll keep him out of your hair," I said. "But we are not done discussing this." I rounded the corner of his boat and found Cowgirl, with his annoying little face on his annoying little bike with his annoying little voice yelling over and over again as he rode towards me. It was enough to make my heart flutter and my stomach do somersaults. And then I realized something. For once, Melanie was nowhere to be seen. It gave me a glimmer of hope. But that was gone just as soon as it arrived, because I reminded myself that thoughts like these were useless, because nothing was ever going to happen between us. Not as long as my pride stood in the way.

As he drew closer and propped his bike up against the boat, I hurried back to hide. He knocked on the boat's side. "Hello?" he asked. I watched as he went over to the fire pit and felt to see if it was still warm or not. "Hello?," he called again, louder this time. "Look, I'm not here to hassle you!" As he said this, I crept around the boat, snatching his bike. But, as I was pulling it away, it hit the boat with a clang, causing me to curse. Of course, Roy heard. "My bike!" he yelled, running towards the noise. I pulled myself onto it, and waited for him to find me.

"Looking for this?" I asked, when he did.

"That's my bike," he said matter-of-factly, glaring at me. I gave him my biggest fake smile.

"Yeah, it is," I said, and then let my smile drop. "Now hop on."

"What?"

"The handlebars. Get on the handlebars, you dork. We're going for a ride."

"No. I can't. Mela—" he started, but long before then I had already found Melanie and her bike, stuffed in the bushes behind the boat.

"You can come out now," I called over my shoulder, cutting him off. She emerged from behind the tree, where I, in my most threatening voice, had told her to stay. As she dragged her bike from the bushes, I turned back to Roy. "_Now_, get on." From his face, I could tell he was still angry, but he did as he was told.

We rode the bikes, Roy and I in the lead and Melanie following, down a dirt road. Roy, being the baby he is, perched awkwardly on the handlebars with his backpack in my face, whining and saying, "Ow." whenever we ran over even the smallest bump. "What's in your backpack," I asked, suddenly. He jumped because I had unexpectedly broken the uncomfortable silence.

"What? Nothing," he said, but I knew he was lying. I made sure we went over a big bump in the dirt road, just to punish him. He just about flew from the handlebars.

"Ah! Can I get off now?" he asked.

"Sure. When you tell me what's in the box." But I let him off anyway.

"Nothing," he repeated. Rage bubbled up inside me and I threw myself off the bike, blowing past Melanie.

"Come on, give it up, Cowgirl! What's in the box?" I shoved him and grabbed the backpack, ready to pull it from his shoulders.

"Shoes," he said finally, pulling away from me.

"Yeah, sure," I said, grabbing the box and running. I heard Melanie throw her bike to the ground.

"I swear," he said, following me. They caught up to me, and I was forced to stop. I lifted the lid of the box and there they were. Shoes, just as he had said.

"Why are you carrying around an old pair of sneakers?" I asked, my voice suspicious. "That is weird, Cowgirl. Really weird."

"They're not for me. They're for this barefoot kid I met." It seemed as though he still hadn't made the connection between Mulletfingers and I.

"Maybe he doesn't _want_ shoes," I said in exasperation. "Did you ever think about that? Why do you care so much about this kid anyway?"

"I don't know, okay. He looked like he needed help," Roy said, and he looked so genuinely concerned about Mulletfingers that I couldn't take it anymore.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do," I said. "I'll make sure that the barefoot kid gets these sneakers. Now get out of here!"

"So you _do_ know him?" Melanie cried. Until then, I had forgotten that she was even there. For once, she had stayed quiet.

"Well who is he?" Roy asked, following me into a big gazebo by the swamp.

"You just won't leave it alone," I mumbled under my breath. I turned towards them and took a deep breath. "Can I trust you?" I asked.

"Of course," Roy said, peering into my eyes and making me, to my own disgust, melt. I looked down, suddenly nervous. "He's my brother. Well, my step-brother."

"Why doesn't he live with you?" Melanie asked.

"My step-mom shipped him off to some military school. He lasted two days and then ran off. Then he hitchhiked back all the way from Alabama." Suddenly, I narrowed my eyes, glaring down at them. "Nobody else knows he's here and nobody's going to tell them, right?"

Roy put up his hands, smiling. "Not me." It was just so hard not to trust him that I continued on with my story.

"About four years ago when my dad was still playing pro-basketball, he went to this celebrity golf show where he met some cheerleader named Lana." Roy and Melanie sat down beside me. "At the wedding, she showed up with this son that she didn't seem to like at all.

"She didn't even like her own son?" Melanie asked incredulously. I just shook my head.

"I'm the only one he even talks to anymore."

"What's his name?" Roy asked.

"I call him Mulletfingers," I said, smiling.

"Mulletfingers?" he asked. "Why?"

"I think you've heard enough for one day. Besides, it's getting late." I got up, taking the shoes with me.

"Yeah," Roy said. "Looks like I'm, uh, gonna be late for dinner."

"Me too," Melanie said.

"Here's your excuse," I said, eying a nail lodged in the wood of the gazebo that would be perfect for making flat bike tires. And with that, we said goodbye, leaving me to think about all that I had told them and whether it was a good choice. I decided it was. As I watched Roy and Melanie walk away, I realized that this might be the start of an actual friendship. Not the type of friendship that I had with my soccer friends where they did whatever I told them to, but a real one, where everyone was equal.

And it didn't even bother me that much when Roy offered carry Melanie's bag for her.


	14. Chapter 14

**Guys, I am soooo terribly sorry that I've been gone for, like, ever, but I had good reason. Actually… now that I think about it… I don't have a reason. Haha, sorry... But I'm back now, and that's all that really matters. Okay, so the point is, if this ever happens again, you have the right to yell at me in reviews and stuff. Kay? Now, on with the story.**

**Chapter 14- **ROY

I dropped Mel off at her aunt and uncle's house, which was a about a ten minute walk from my own and Melanie's street. I continued walking, dragging my bike along beside me, and when I was almost half way home, I heard sirens behind me. I looked over my shoulder, just in time to watch a small golf cart-like vehicle labeled "POLICE" screech to a stop. A sighed as I spotted the same, way too optimistic cop as had handed the letter to Melanie and I inside of it. Just my luck.

"Hey, aren't you one of those kids I asked to deliver that letter?" I nodded. "Looks like you could use a lift," he said with his slight southern slur, pulling up beside me. "Why don't you throw your bike in the back and hop on in?" I did as I was told and lifted my bike up into the small compartment on the back of the cart that looked kind of like the bed of a truck. I really would rather have walked back alone so I could think about all that Beatrice had said, but I hid my resentment.

"Thank you, sir," I said politely.

"You got it," he replied. I rounded the cart to sit in the passenger seat. "Why don't you buckle up for me?" he asked, even though the cart travels at barely five miles an hour. I sat down, and our shoulders couldn't fit side-by-side, that's how small of a space we were confined to. Talk about too close for comfort. Just then, his radio beeped, and he answered.

"One Baker six. One Baker six, come in," came the scratchy voice.

"Sorry, just got a bit of police business I gotta attend to," he whispered to me. "Go for one Baker six," he said into the radio.

"Did you pick up the captain's dry-cleaning yet?" the scratchy voice asked. I had to hold back a snort of laughter; so much for police business.

"Ten-four on that," he replied, sounding a bit disappointed and embarrassed. We continued to drive along in silence, so painfully slowly. I could have walked faster, and in the boiling heat, being in a cramped space with a sweaty cop was agonizing."Yeah, this is just a temporary arrangement," he told me to break the silence, referring to the golf cart he was using as a car. "What your name, son?" he continued.

"I'm Roy. Roy Ebberhart," I answered.

"Can I ask you something, Roy? Now, you go to Trace, right? Did you ever hear about stuff happening at the pancake house that's being built?"

"No," I told him, "but I saw the newspaper about the police car being painted."

"Well, police officers are not superheroes, Roy, and a stakeout could be a real trouble for any lawman. Even for a cop as good as that cop was." He paused for a moment, and then began again, "You see how I'm looking at you right now? You see these eyes? Police work requires focus, Roy." Suddenly, he jerked forward, swerving and barely missing a parked car.

"Watch it!" I yelled. Wow, this guy really is displaying his great focus right now.

"And extreme, tiger-like reflexes like the ones I just exhibited," he continued. He let out a breath of air, seeming a bit shaken by our almost-accident.

"You okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah I'm fine," he replied. With this, he pulled up at my door. We said our goodbyes, and, with a sigh of relief, I saw myself out of the cart.


	15. Chapter 15

**Omg so I'm really getting back into writing this story… good riddance writer's block!**

**Chapter 15- **MULLETFINGERS

I stole across the wooden floorboards towards the small porthole on the boat. Darkness. Just what I needed. I walked over to the old, covered up fish tank in the corner and carefully, one by one using the end of a _long_ stick, placed the cottonmouths I had found this morning in a bag and sealed it as tight as I could. They writhed around in there, the same bag I had been putting that baby gator in the day I met Melanie. She came to my boat this afternoon, but I didn't want to let her in. She had led that beyond annoying kid to me, probably her boyfriend. He just wouldn't leave me alone. So, naturally, I thought she was just as bad as him, but I was wrong.

She explained to me that she hadn't known Roy, my pesky little shadow, meant me when he referred to the "barefoot kid" he kept seeing, and in a new town, she didn't realize until too late that he was leading her to my boat. She wanted to apologize to me, so I finally let her in, but all she really did was try and tell me how great Roy was, even though he didn't seem like it now, and how we could be friends If I just let him near me. I was angry because that was all she seemed to be able to talk about, _him_, so I tried changing the subject. I told her that I was planning on going on a little "adventure" tonight, and that I might need her help. I didn't tell her what I was going to do; I wanted to wait to see how she would react first. I would never have let her actually come _into_ the lot with me, with the dogs and snakes and all, but she could be lookout. She looked a bit unsure, like she didn't really trust all that much, and I couldn't blame her.

"Can Roy come?" she asked, and that just about sent me over the edge.

"No," I said plainly, glaring straight ahead at the wall in front of me.

"Why not?" she asked, looking a bit hurt.

" 'Cause he'd mess things up. He's too slow," I said, making up excuses.

"He's not that slow, just not as fast as you."

"Exactly. No, actually, he's a _lot_ slower than me," I answered.

"Well, so am I," she said, looking down at her hands.

"Nah, you could outrun him," I assured her, though I wasn't too sure. I mean, maybe it was the fact that she was so small that made her seem fast, maybe in reality she was slower than I was in the second grade, but I didn't pay close enough attention.

"I don't see why he can't come," she said stubbornly, crossing her arms. "And I don't see why you hate him so much." _Because he's so damn annoying, _I thought.

"Well, some people get along, Mel, and some people just don't mix. You wouldn't get it; you're a girl. You only see the good in people," I said without thinking, and I instantly regretted my words. Melanie stood up indignantly at this, and pushed her way past me to the ladder leading up to the door of the boat.

"Don't call me that," she said, gritting her teeth. "It's Melanie, and only Melanie, got it? And I really do apologize for being a girl, we can be such bores sometimes. But, according to you, I was born a doormat for people to step all over, and there's no way to fix it now, so too bad. What a shame." And in the blink of an eye, she was gone. I didn't apologize, I didn't call after her. I guess I'm just not too good with girls. Then I just sat in my bed, smashing my head against the wall for a good fifteen minutes.

Suddenly, I sat up, trying not to think about it. About her. It was nightfall, and I was ready to pounce. I grasped the writhing canvas bag and took off, taking shortcuts through bushes and such, as not to be seen. I could hear the dogs from a mile away, probably barking at a squirrel or something. They had set these dogs up just for me, and I was ready to scare them off with my cottonmouths. When the owner of the lot found the snakes, he would pull those dogs right out of here, not wanting them to get bitten.

So I skillfully hopped the fence, making it over without a sound. The dogs could sense me, they just couldn't see me. One caught sight of me, just then, and I ducked behind a trailer to gather my surroundings. I slowly edged up and sprinted towards a bulldozer on the other end of the lot. I got their safely, but the dogs howled and scampered towards me. They were two huge Rottweilers with spiked collars, ready to devour anything or anybody that got in their way.

Cautiously, I loosened the ties on my canvas bag, seeing one snake hiss and lash out against the side. "Calm down," I seethed at them. Then, carefully, I tossed the bag far away from me, but near enough to the dogs. The one chased after the bag that had flown through the air, but now the other had a determined look across its face, telling me that I was in for the run of my life. It howled and stepped closer, so I jumped up, only to be pulled down again. I looked down and saw, with horror, that my arm was stuck in the tangled rope trailing off the bulldozer. I was a goner.

"Easy, boy," I told the dog. "Just back off and I'll get myself out of here." I was stealthily untangling my arm with slow movements, because I knew anything sudden would frighten the beast and turn me to dog kibble. "I'm not gonna hurt you," I said, trying to make steady eye contact with it. But it just growled, its teeth barred at me. The other dog had gotten bored with the cottonmouths and was over here now, backing the other up.

Just one more loop and my arm would be free. I inched it out as carefully as possible, but my elbow banged against the side of the monstrous vehicle. At the sound, the dogs pounced, just as I shot up from the ground. I started to run, but I tripped when one caught and ripped the back of my shorts. I scrambled up again, and sprinted towards the fence. _You're almost there, you're almost there,_ I told myself over and over in my head. The fence was within arm's reach. One of the dogs lunged forward but missed. I lodged one of my feet into the fence and used all my strength to pull myself up, but suddenly the other dog came back at me, ripping at my skin with its jagged teeth, clawing against my legs. I howled with pain, but somehow managed to get myself to roll over the fence, the top of it digging into the sensitive skin on my stomach and ripping my shirt. I hit the ground with a thump and groaned. _You will not cry. You will not cry,_ I commanded myself. The pain running up and down my arm where the dog bit me was unbearable and at the sight of all that blood gushing I felt a bit dizzy. I knew I had to stop the bleeding, so I whipped off my torn shirt and tried my best to wrap it around the wound, but with only one hand and blurry vision, I didn't do a very good job, so the blood was still seeping out. I was losing too much, but at 3 A.M. who was there to help me? No one.

I lurched suddenly up from the ground and wobbled on my feet, but somehow I made it back to the boat. I was delirious by then, and my skin felt hot, but at least the bleeding had slowed to a trickle. I tossed and turned, not even the least bit aware when Bee came and found me.


	16. Chapter 16

**Heyy guys… don't hate me please? Okay, fine, I realize it's been like two months, but why hold a grudge? Forgive me? Kay, good. On another subject, I kinda hate my first chapter. It's too… idk. Her family just seems too perfect. I've been noticing from my story traffic thing that a lot of people read my first chapter and then stop. Should I rewrite it? Also, as I was rereading today so I could get back into the story, I noticed a whole lot of errors… like how for the first half of the story I kept writing "golf coarse" or "of coarse". So… yeah. Not good. My story is getting so long. I know I get annoyed when fanfics are horrifically long, so do you guys? Please let me know. **

**Now, to deal with my wonderful reviewers. DarkBlade Desperado King, my most faithful reader: thankyou for the offer! If you (or anyone else for that matter) ever have any ideas, just PM me. Maureen: I never said Melanie had brown eyes? Anyways, YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT FREAKS ME OUT WHEN PEOPLE I KNOW READ THIS :[. Tea Honey and Narniafan96: Thankyou so much! **

**Peace out, people. :) **

**Chapter 16- **ROY

"Hey, Roy, Tina's my partner for the history project and we have nothing done. I'm gonna sit with her on the bus today to work things out, okay? I don't mean to ditch you but it's necessary," Melanie said as we walked towards our stop.

"But—" I began, before being cut off by the screech of the yellow school bus pulling up to the curb.

"Just sit with Bee or Garret or something. Listen, I can't talk now, but I'll walk with you to class?" Sure. Right. She bounded up the steps towards the back of the bus without even waiting for my answer, away from our usual seat. With a sigh I sat myself down on the ripped leather bench and stared at nothing, lost in thought. I felt someone nudge me. It was Garret.

"Dude, watch out. It's Dana's stop." I nodded to him, determined not to show fear. It was Dana's first day back and he was not going to be happy to see me. I was suddenly glad Melanie hadn't sat with me today. I tried looking on the bright side. Maybe he was intimidated by me now after the punch. Maybe he would just walk right on by.

Who was I kidding. He was going to beat the crap out of me.

I stared straight ahead, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing me even the slightest bit afraid. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him lumbering down the aisle toward me. _Leave me alone. Just leave me alone. Oh, dear God, please let him leave me alone_, I thought. No such luck. I heard him throw himself down onto the seat behind me. Sighing, I shook my head.

"Hi, Dana."

"Hey, Cowgirl," he snarled, his voice dripping with venom. I slowly turned around. "You and me go' thome bithness to sethle, Ebberhar'." With satisfaction, I noticed that his swollen lip stopped him from correctly pronouncing most of his words.

"What _bithness_?" I asked, mocking him slightly. "I gave you an apology; that makes _us_ even." This sent him over the edge. He roughly grabbed the top of my head and shook it. "_Ow._"

"You're a _long_ way from even wi' me. You're gonna be thorry you ever methed with me. I am goin' a be your wortht nigh'mare." I writhed in pain as he clenched his large, meaty hand tighter around my skull. Suddenly, he let go and straightened, fear flashing on his face. I gripped my head and turned in relief, not bothering to see who it was. Behind me I heard someone being shoved and the sound of a head cracking against a window, then a groan. I turned to see Bee, sitting nearly on top of Dana, forcing his head against the wall. I gaped at her.

"What are you staring at?" she snarled. I gave her a strange, lopsided grin.

"Hi, Beatrice." She opened her mouth to let out a comeback, but noticed Dana looking up. She smacked him on the side of the head.

"I'm thorry!" he cried, before being smacked again. "Aahhaoww!"

"Ooh! And the Bear goes in for the tackle!" Garret said, like a sports announcer.

_Huh,_ I thought, _I guess I was right. Maybe Beatrice isn't so bad afterall._


	17. Chapter 17

**Another chapter? Woo, I am on a roll. I have decided to step outside the box and give Garret a bigger role in the story, since he doesn't really have one in the book. Enjoy. :]**

**Chapter 17- **GARRET

I had to find Roy and I had to find him now. Friends don't let friends get pummeled to death. I ran through the halls and pushed my way through the door leading to the courtyard. Sure enough, there he was walking to his next class, which I had ingeniously (if I do say so myself) asked around for.

"Ebberhart!" I shouted, catching up to him. I grabbed him by the shoulder. "You look sick, you should go home early."

He shrugged, smiling and looking at me strangely. So unsuspecting…. "I feel fine."

"I don't care how you _think_ you feel," I said, chuckling bitterly. "You should call your mom and go home, bro."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

I looked around me and said, quietly, "Look, I know a guy in Dana's P.E. class. He says Dana's gonna snatch you right before you get on the bus."

Roy, like a complete idiot, rolled his eyes. "And do what?"

I tried to give a weak smile. "Guess you've got 'til 2:45 to find out? In the meantime, I'll get to work on your eulogy," I said, patting him on the back and walking away.

"_Eulogy?_" Roy chased after me. "What?"

"Just do yourself a favor and fake the chicken pox or something." I rushed away to find the one person who could help the situation.

The one and the only, Beatrice the Bear.

I guess I've always had a kind of pathetic crush on Beatrice Leep. Maybe it was the way she scared the sh*t out of me—out of everyone. Maybe it was the way she called me dweeb and told me to buzz off. Or maybe I just liked being smacked upside the head. I don't know. But, for some reason, I liked her. A lot. And right now, Roy's life was dependent on whether she could put aside her hate for me to scare Dana away.


	18. Chapter 18

**Woah… three chapters in one day… I guess this makes up for the delayed updates?**

**Chapter 18- **ROY

There I was, sitting in my last period , contemplating my fate. I decided not to tell Melanie about this. I needed to fight my own battles, not bring innocent people into them.

"So, to answer your question, Pacific swells are usually a lot bigger than Atlantic swells," droned Mr. Ryan, our fifty-something, half-insane science teacher who always wears moccasins, khaki shorts, and Hawaiian-print t-shirts and who spends his free time surfing. "But remember, Kelly Slater is in Florida!" The bell rang, the last thing I wanted to hear. "Okay, test tomorrow. Be ready!" Kids pushed and shoved their way out, all except me. "Bye! Bye-bye." He grabbed his bag and walked over to where I was still sitting. "Roy? Everything alright?"

"Oh! Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine," I said, hurrying to pack up my stuff.

"Alright. Ciao!" He waved and walked away. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in my head. I threw the rest of my things into my bag and ran to catch up to him.

"Hey, Mr. Ryan! Wait up!" He turned in surprise. "You going home too?"

"Sooner or later. I got some papers to grade. Hopefully I'll finish early and catch some waves before dinner."

"Cool," I said, trying to keep my voice casual, "I—I think I'm just going to walk with you for a bit."

"Isn't the bus the other way?"

"Yeah, well… I'm just streching my legs."

"Roy. Is there something you want to talk to me about?"

"Oh! No—no, everything is fine."

"Then you better get going or you'll miss your bus. Later, dude!" So much for using a teacher as my body guard.

This was it. I had to do it. Turning around, I faced the long, tunnel-like arch that led to the buses, ready to make a run for it. Forcing my legs to move, I ran for my life, my eyes never leaving my destination: yellow school bus #135.

But this was where I faulted. Because I was so focused, I did not notice the two big, burly arms reaching out to grab me. "AHHHH!" I couldn't help but scream as I was shoved into a jantor's closet by who I knew was Dana. He closed the door and pushed me roughly up against a wall.

"I thought we were settled!" I pleaded with him.

"Not even close." He raised a fist but I was too quick. I ducked and he slammed his fist into the wall, causing him to yelp in pain. I crawled on all fours around him and began to bang on the door, hoping someone would hear me, but Dana grabbed me by the neck and shoulder and dragged me away. "Come on, Cowgirl!"

"OW! Leave me a—OW. Ow!" I rasped pathetically as he tried to strangle me. I coughed and struggled, and he laughed at me, almost in pity. Suddenly, a bright light flooded the room as the door flew open. I heard Dana screaming and the door slam as I lay there on the floor, attempting to catch my breath. Gasping, I pushed myself up from the floor. "Um… Mr. Ryan?" I called weakly. When no answer came, I cautiously opened the door and looked around me for Dana or one of his thugs, thinking this was a trap. I figured the coast was clear, but still knew I had to get out of there. I ran out to the now-empty bus pickup zone, only to find, to my surprise, Dana in nothing but his underwear tied to a pole. "How in _hell_ did that ha—"

"Hey!" It was Beatrice's voice. I whipped my head around. Of course.

"You did this?" I felt pathetic. Beatrice can manage to tie Dana to a pole after removing all his clothing and I can't even escape his clutches in a janitor's closet.

"You can thank me later but now we need to go." I pulled myself up onto the handlebars of her bike like last time without even asking what we were doing. She pushed off, pedaling furiously.


	19. Chapter 19

**Another chapter! I think I'm writing so much because school is coming in a couple of days… meaning I'll like never update unless encouraged. (You guys should be encourage me).**

**Have fun reading. :D**

**Chapter 19- **MELANIE

_Clunk. Clunk-clunk. _Someone was throwing pebbles from my mother's garden against my window. Roy.

"MELANIE! Mel, we gotta go! NOW."

"What? Why? And where were you today on the bus?" I asked.

"That doesn't matter. Just get down here, quick!"

"Fine, fine. But this better be important," I grumbled, but complied. As soon as I was out the door Roy grabbed my hand and dragged me behind him toward Beatrice where she was standing guard over our bikes.

"Did you get everything I wanted?" Bee asked.

"Yup, my mom keeps a first-aid kit under the sink," Roy answered, gesturing to his backpack.

"Wait, what? First-aid kit? What happened?" I asked. How serious was this?

"It's Mullet. A dog bit him."

"Oh, my God. Is he okay?" I was worried. No matter how mad I was at him, I never wanted anything like this to happen. Then it hit me. Maybe this happened while he was on his little "adventure." Maybe if I had come along like he had asked he would be alright. Now I felt horrible.

"What do you think? Of course he's not okay," Beatrice spat as she mounted her bike. A feeling of sickness washed over me and didn't go away the whole ride there.

When we reached the boat, Beatrice and Roy immediately threw down there bikes and ran at full speed up the boat stairs. I took a deep breath to calm myself down before following them in.

"I came by at lunch and I found him like this," said Beatrice. On his small cot, Mulletfingers was tossing back and forth in feverish delerium. Roy took off his backpack and pulled out the first-aid kit.

"Dog got me…" Mulletfingers murmured as Roy inspected his arm. Roy lifted the injured arm up and Beatrice turned away from the blood. Mullet gritted his teeth against the pain. Kneeling by the bed, I felt his forehead. He was burning with fever. Roy moved to pull bandages out of the kit.

"We've got some antibiotic cream to put on it for now, but you're going to need a doctor." He said. Mulletfingers did not look happy at the idea of this. Bee ran a cloth under the faucet to dab his face with.

"I'll be okay, alright?" he said, so quietly you had to lean down to hear him. Roy started to wrap his arm up with a long bandage, causing him to wince in pain. I gripped his hand. Despite the fever, it was ice cold.

"How'd you get bit, anyway?" Roy asked.

"My arm got stuck," Mulletfingers answered miserably.

"Doing what?" Roy asked, incredulous.

After a long pause, Mullet answered. "I've got these little friends I look after at this construction site. They brought in these big dogs to get rid of me, so I put these snakes around the lot to freak the dogs out. See, I knew the trainer would drag them outta there when he saw they were cottonmouths." Roy continued prodding at his arm. Mullet sucked in a breath and whispered, "_Ow_."

This was too much to be a coincidence. "Does this have anything to do with that cop-car that got painted black?" I asked. "The gators in the toilet?" I continued.

"If they build that pancake place, those baby owls are toast," he said, looking genuinely concerned.

_"I knew it,"_ I said under my breath. The theory I had since Roy told me about the story in the newspaper was correct. Mullet squeezed my hand.

"Yeah. Yeah, I've seen those owls," Roy said.

"Y—you have?"

"Me too," I said. That was the day we had that run-in with the cottonmouths. "Why don't they just build somewhere else?" I asked.

"We tried to tell them about the nests," Bee said, "but all we got back was a letter from this jerk named Muckle saying that all the permits they need are filled. They don't care about little birds. My brother's been trying to stop them ever since."

Suddenly, Mullet let go of my hand and gripped the wall, squirming in feverish pain. "Hey! Hey, you okay?" Roy asked.

"W—what? Y—you kidding me? I feel... feel like a million bucks…." He took a firm hold of my arm and use it for support to push himself into a sitting position. He let go of me and with much effort stood up. He stood there unsteadily for a few seconds before his legs crumpled beneath him and he began falling.

"Mullet!" Bee cried as she and Roy lunged for him. They struggled to support his weight but managed to get his arms around them and pull him almost upright.

"We have to get him to the hospital," Roy said. "Mel, grab our stuff."


	20. Chapter 20

**Heyy guys! :D As you can see, next chapter is up! Yay for my own awesome non-delayed updates! Anyways, I'd like you all to know that your reviews encourage me a lot. They make me smile. :) So, to Avry246, I am honestly so amazed and greatful that you like my story so much! If I had known that people were waiting for my updates I would have made more of an effort. So, again, (and I know I've said this millions of times) feel free to bug me if I get lazy with the updates. Just send me a messege and I'll get on it! Also, to my unnamed reviewer, I'm happy to know my story isn't getting too long! And what exactly do you mean by he should hang out with them more? I mean, no offense to Roy, but he doesn't really have any other friends besides them, so who else does he really hang out with? I'm just curious and a teensy bit slow (okay, maybe more than a teensy bit :P), so if someone could just explain what she/he means it would help me a lot. Suggestions are my friend! Hearing your ideas really does keep the story going. OOOH, and by the way, NO ONE HAS ANSWERED MY QUESTION ABOUT THE HORRIBLE FIRST CHAPTER! PLEASE HELP ME.**

**Okay, enough babbling. Enjoy! :) **

**Chapter 20- **BEATRICE

"This is bad, Cowgirl, really bad," I said, gesturing to the half-conscious, mumbling Mulletfingers leaning with his his head on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," Roy told me, and he looked so sincere I almost believed it.

"Yeah," Melanie added, even though the comment hadn't been directed towards her.

"I'm worried about him; I've never seen him act like this," I said, the panic rising up the back of my throat. I began to shake Mullet, willing him to snap out of it.

A middle-aged female doctor walked up to us. "Which one of you is…" she paused, refering to her clipboard, "Roy Ebberhart?"

All three of us exchanged a look and simultaneously pointed to the now drooling Mulletfingers. "He is."

The doctor looked at us dubiously and said, "Tell me again what happened, from the beginning?"

When neither Melanie nor Roy had the guts to speak up, I took a deep breath and tried to stick to the truth as much as possible. "All… right. A dog the size of a Buick… attacked Roy at soccor practice," I started, and so what? Maybe I was embellishing a little. Sue me. "He came home all chewed up so we brought him here as fast as we could." I thought I did pretty well, but she wasn't buying it. "It's true!" I said defensively.

"No," the doctor said, shaking her head, "I believe your brother was attacked by a dog. I just don't believe that it happened today. Judging by how far the infection has progressed, I'd estimate he was bitten eighteen to twenty-four hours ago.

"Yeah!" Roy cut in, trying to get us out of the mess our lies have created. "Eighteen hours… that sounds about right, because… well you see, ah, he…"

But to my surprise, it was Melanie who saved us, "H—he passed out right after he got bit. It wasn't until the next day that Beatrice called us to ask for help getting us to the hospital." She finished triumphantly, obviously proud of herself.

"I see…." The doctor said. "Now, if I may ask, where were your parents during this time?"

We all answered at once.

"Out," I blurted automatically.

"Oh, their parents…" Melanie started but then stopped, letting Roy handle this. Too bad neither of us new what type of dumb excuse he'd come up with.

"Their parents work on a crab boat," He said, nodding his head assertively.

The doctor narrowed her eyes at him in distaste. "And you are...?"

"Ahh… uhm…" Then his eyes wandered over to the name tag of a custodian sweeping the floors a few feet away. Roy looked up, inspired. "Ling Ho," he said, smiling, not yet realizing that he obviously was not of Asian decent. I elbowed him in the ribs and Melanie shot him a look as if to say, "What the hell?"

"Okay," the doctor said, obviously fed up. "This is what is going to happen. I am going to go attend to Roy, and then the three of us are going to sit down and somebody is going to begin telling me the truth. You got that… Ling Ho?" We nodded at her with our best smiles as, with the help of a nearby nurse, she led Mulletfingers away from us.

I smacked Roy on the back of the head. "Ling Ho? Seriously?" Roy groaned. "This is not going to work, Cowgirl," I continued. "Once they realize that Mullet's not you they're gonna put him in Juvie or, worse, Lana's gonna ship him off somewhere where he _can't _run away." Anxiety, anger, fear, _everything _was building up inside of me now.

"Don't worry. We'll come up with something," he assured me, looking straight at me, and like that I melted. I was so pathetic.

"Yeah, don't worry, Bee. It'll be okay," Melanie said, awkwardly patting me on the back. Lost in Roy's eyes, I had completely forgotten she existed.

"Sure. Fine. But I gotta go. Bye, Cowgirl; Melanie," I said, walking away.

"Hey wait!" Roy called after me. "Where are you going?"

I looked at him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "To fix dinner for my dad. I do it every night. I'll be back in an hour. Promise." I forced myself to smile and wave before exiting the room.

"You're kidding, right?" I heard Melanie shout after me. _Have fun_, I thought, glad to be out of this situation, at least for an hour.


End file.
